Once upon a time, it would take a banner parade round Ibrox to force unpopular figures off their perches atop the Marble Staircase.
More recently, well they’ve been sprinting for the exits before the Rangers support have even had time to strip the bedsheets and apply the first brush strokes on those infamous mugshots with the red stripe slashed through them. James Bisgrove, John Bennett and now Creag Robertson, they’ve all jumped before they were pushed out by a furious fanbase.
You can certainly see the sense in it given the treatment some of their former colleagues have endured. A little under 18 months has passed since the Rangers board endured a week from hell. What started with an Old Firm defeat ended with the directors squirming in their seats as the Ibrox faithful spelled out exactly what they thought of the men in charge.
“After 55 titles you took your eye off the ball – time for a change,” read a display that emerged from the section housing the Union Bears during a league win over Kilmarnock just days after Michael Beale’s side had lost yet again to Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic in the 2023 Viaplay Cup final.
That day it was former CEO Stewart Robertson and director of football Ross Wilson who were in the crosshairs of the scunnered support. It was a mortifying experience for the pair but they got the message. Within weeks, both men had cleared their desks. Beale would get the same treatment too soon enough. And those seething shows of contempt from the punters have clearly stuck in the minds of the blazers who remained behind.
So when the spotlight of anger turned to them, well they shot off before the punter’s glowering glare got anywhere near its brightest. Bisgrove, Robertson’s replacement as chief exec, didn’t even wait until news of his botched building job on the Copland Road end broke before he scuttled off to Saudi Arabia. It was left to Bennett to carry the can for that one.
But when the strain of a shambolic summer and early exit from the Champions League became too much for his health, the chairman also opted to vacate. Now director of football operations Creag Robertson is the latest to depart, further adding to the impression around Ibrox that an already rudderless ship is listing at an increasingly dangerous angle.
When Bisgrove quit, the former Falkirk admin chief was among the team of execs Bennett entrusted to run the club in the absence of a CEO.
“The executive team James helped shape has firmly established itself and I fully expect its momentum to be uninterrupted,” said Bennett, only a mere week before the wheels came off as he learned that Bisgrove had failed to order his Chinese steel shipment on time.
But even with the Copland cock-up sorted after a costly month-long flit to Hampden, balls continued to be dropped off the field at Ibrox. Boss Philippe Clement was left visibly angered when a visa gaffe meant striker Hamza Igamane was prevented from flying out with the team for last month’s Europa League win in Malmo. “I was not happy about that, clearly not,” blasted the Belgian after the game. “There were issues with his passport. Those are situations you don’t want to face as a manager.”
So having already been tasked with finding a new chief executive and a replacement for himself, interim chairman John Gilligan now has yet another job on his to-do list, with a director of football operations the latest role needing filled. That will certainly please the high-cost London headhunting firm he’s hired to help lead the recruitment search.
But for all the notion going that this is another sign of a club in crisis – and it is hard to disagree – there is scope for a more optimistic outlook for those fed-up fans. Bar one 12 month period under Steven Gerrard, Rangers have been outclassed not only on the park but also off it by their Parkhead rivals. Bisgrove against Peter Lawwell was as big a mismatch as it was asking Philippe Senderos to halt Moussa Dembele.
If Rangers are serious about taking on the Hoops on the field, they must also look to match up in the boardroom. This is a chance to recruit serious operators that are capable of giving the club a purpose, a direction and a vision for the future. If they hire well, then perhaps they can finally put these succession of banner protests to bed. If not, well they know what’s coming…